Why low inflation can be dangerous
Right now our inflation rate is around 1 percent. But some at the Fed say that’s way too low.
The hope is to see inflation go up. But why on earth would we want to increase inflation?
“A little bit is good, but not too much. It’s like a lot of things in life — good in moderation,” says Jeremy Siegel, a professor of finance at Wharton. “Higher inflation is a bad thing, but mild inflation, statistically has been associated with very good economic times.”
Siegel says during times of inflation, the dollar decreases in value. So the $100 you borrowed back in the day was worth more then, than your $100 payment today — which means less financial burdens for consumers and more cash to spend.
And that’s one reason the Fed wants to see inflation go up — just a little bit.
“It’s not so high as to be hurting a lot of people, but it’s at a level which would probably create a lot of jobs,” says Gary Thayer, chief macro strategist at Wells Fargo Advisers. Thayer says the benefit of job creation would probably outweigh a slightly higher inflation rate.
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